Transporting device with transporting belt

ABSTRACT

A transporting device, for conveying goods over a conveying route, includes a transporting belt and at least one rope-like traction element for exerting a traction force upon the transporting belt. The transporting belt follows the traction element, at least along a transporting section of the conveying route, and is in communication there with the traction element through a coupling. The coupling has at least one spring element which, in the aforementioned transporting section, encompasses the traction element, with spring effect, for the creation of a force coupling.

CROSS REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATION

This is a continuing application, under 35 U.S.C. §120, of copendingInternational Application No. PCT/CH2005/000243, filed May 2, 2005,which designated the United States; this application also claims thepriority, under 35 U.S.C. §119, of Swiss Patent Application CH 815/04,filed May 10, 2004; the prior applications are herewith incorporated byreference in their entirety.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION Field of the Invention

The invention relates to a transporting device for conveying goods overa conveying route. The transporting device has a transporting belt andat least one rope-like traction element for exerting a traction forceupon the transporting belt. The transporting belt follows the tractionelement at least along a transporting section of the conveying route andis in communication there with the traction element through a coupling.The invention also relates to a transporting device for conveying goodsover a transporting route, including a transporting belt and enclosingelements. The enclosing elements are disposed on the transporting beltand form side walls for the transporting belt. In this context, the term“goods” is to be understood in a broad sense, and especially alsoembraces loose material, piece goods, and even passengers.

Such transporting devices are known, for example, with reference toEuropean Patent EP 1 338 531 B1, corresponding to U.S. PatentApplication Publication No. US 2003/0155214 A1, French PatentApplication FR 2 560 168 A1, German Patent Application DE 28 13 063 A1,corresponding to UK Patent Application GB 159 1461 A, Romanian PatentApplication RO 101 572 A, or German Patent Application DE 1 247 202 A,corresponding to U.S. Pat. No. 3,424,296. They have a coupling, forexample in the form of longitudinal slots formed on the transportingbelt, which are in communication with ropes. In German PatentApplication DE 28 13 063 A1, corresponding to UK Patent Application GB159 1461 A, the ropes are constructed as traction elements, which areconnected to drive motors.

Furthermore, devices are also known in which the transporting belt ishauled upon rollers by the track ropes of a cableway. That allows theadvantages of the cableway to be utilized in the open country. However,the high costs for the transporting belt, with the large number ofintegrated running rollers, as well as the demand for electrical power,maintenance, etc., are disadvantageous.

It is advantageous to equip the transporting belt with side walls,especially in the case of loose material. For that purpose, verticalwalls are provided on the sides of the transporting belt in EuropeanPatent EP 1 338 531 B1, corresponding to U.S. Patent ApplicationPublication No. US 2003/0155214 A1. However, in order to ensure that thetransporting belt can be guided around deflection rollers, those wallsare folded in the manner of a bellows, so that they can be stretched orcompressed. The manufacture of such walls, however, is costly.

SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

It is accordingly an object of the invention to provide a transportingdevice with a transporting belt, which overcomes thehereinafore-mentioned disadvantages of the heretofore-known devices ofthis general type and which creates a versatile and yet inexpensivetransporting system, which can be used in the most varied terrain.

With the foregoing and other objects in view there is provided, inaccordance with the invention, a transporting device for conveying goodsover a conveying route. The transporting device comprises a transportingbelt and at least one rope-like traction element for exerting a tractionforce upon the transporting belt. The transporting belt follows the atleast one traction element at least along a transporting section of theconveying route. A coupling, through which the transporting belt and theat least one traction element communicate in the transporting section,has at least one spring element encompassing the at least one tractionelement with springiness in the transporting section, to create a forcecoupling.

This allows the transmission of high traction forces. The transportingbelt can be used as a simple carrying element, and does not need to beconstructed as a traction element. The same transporting belt can thusbe used, for example, to overcome large height differences and can alsobe used in flat terrain. A system change between different terrainsections can be dispensed with.

A “rope-like” traction element is understood in this case to be atraction element, which is long and flexible in the manner of a rope sothat it can be guided and deflected, for example by support rollers. Forexample, it can be a steel cable, a chain, or a profiled belt.

In accordance with another feature of the invention, the sametransporting belt can be guided without interruption over differenttransporting sections, even if the transporting sections have separateand possibly even different traction elements. For this purpose, adevice is preferably provided between the transporting sections, bywhich the spring elements can be released from the traction element ofone section, and connected to the traction element of the next section.

With the objects of the invention in view, there is also provided atransporting device for conveying goods over a transporting route. Thetransporting device comprises a transporting belt and enclosing elementsdisposed on the transporting belt and forming side walls for thetransporting belt. The side walls are flexible and disposed at an angle,other than a right angle, relative to the transporting belt.

This simple construction allows the transporting belt to be guidedaround the deflection rollers without the side walls being damaged. Theangle between the transporting belt and the side walls is adapted ineach case so that no excessive compression or stretching of the sidewalls takes place.

Corresponding enclosing elements can be constructed, for example asstraight longitudinal profiles with a basically constant cross section.

Transporting devices according to the invention can be used, forexample, for the conveyance of loose material or piece goods, but canalso be used for passenger transportation.

Other features which are considered as characteristic for the inventionare set forth in the appended claims.

Although the invention is illustrated and described herein as embodiedin a transporting device with a transporting belt, it is neverthelessnot intended to be limited to the details shown, since furtherdevelopments, advantages and applications of the invention as well asvarious modifications and structural changes may be made therein withoutdeparting from the spirit of the invention and within the scope andrange of equivalents of the claims.

The construction and method of operation of the invention, however,together with additional objects and advantages thereof will be bestunderstood from the following description of specific embodiments whenread in connection with the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a diagrammatic, perspective view of a first embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 2 is a longitudinal-sectional view through the embodiment accordingto FIG. 1;

FIG. 3 is an enlarged, longitudinal-sectional view through an edgeregion of the transporting belt and a coupling of a variant of the firstembodiment;

FIG. 4 is a longitudinal-sectional view through the edge region of thetransporting belt and a coupling of a second embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 5 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 4 in the region of alift roller of a spreading device;

FIG. 6 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 4 in the region ofpress-on rollers of a spreading device;

FIG. 7 is a longitudinal-sectional view through the edge region of thetransporting belt and a coupling of a third embodiment of the invention;

FIG. 8 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 7 in the region of thelift roller of a spreading device;

FIG. 9 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 7 in the region of thepress-on rollers of a spreading device;

FIG. 10 is a longitudinal-sectional view through the edge region of thetransporting belt and a coupling of a fourth embodiment of theinvention;

FIG. 11 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 10 in the region ofthe lift roller of a spreading device;

FIG. 12 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 10 in the region ofthe press-on rollers of a spreading device;

FIG. 13 is a fragmentary, longitudinal-sectional view through the edgeregion and a side wall of a transporting belt;

FIG. 14 shows the sectional view according to FIG. 13, with thetransporting belt in a bowed state;

FIG. 15 is a reduced, longitudinal-sectional view through thetransporting belt on two support rollers;

FIG. 16 is a longitudinal-sectional view through another embodiment ofthe transporting belt on two support rollers;

FIG. 17 is a longitudinal-sectional view through a further embodiment ofthe transporting device on two support rollers; and

FIG. 18 is a longitudinal-sectional view through a further embodiment ofthe transporting device, with a support structure which is installed ontrack ropes of a cableway.

DESCRIPTION OF THE PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS

Referring now to the figures of the drawings in detail and first,particularly, to FIGS. 1 and 2 thereof, there is seen a first embodimentof a device according to the invention, which has a transporting belt 1with an upper side 2 and a lower side 3, wherein the upper side 2 isprovided for holding goods or passengers. The transporting belt 1 isconnected along its side edges to a spring element 4, or to a coupling,as the case may be. Each spring element 4 includes an upper section,which is referred to below as a holder 5, and a lower section, whichforms a gripper 6 with two fingers 6 a, 6 b.

In the illustrated embodiment, the transporting belt 1, as well ascomponents of the spring elements 4, are formed in one piece from aprofile or section of durable, flexible synthetic material, for examplehard rubber.

A relatively transversely rigid profile section 7 is installed in theholder 5 of each spring element 4. The profile section 7 is gripped onboth sides by arms 5 a, 5 b of the holder 5.

The fingers 6 a, 6 b of the gripper 6 grip around a rope 8 withelastically springing effect, in fact over a circumference of more than180° (by about 270° in the example which is shown), so that the tractionrope 8 can only be removed from the gripper 6, or inserted in thegripper 6, as the case may be, by spreading the fingers 6 a, 6 b. As therope 8 is gripped, the inner shape of the gripper 6 correspondsbasically to the gripped outer shape of the rope 8, so that a goodfrictional engagement is ensured. If the outer side of the rope 8 hasmoldings or recesses which extend transversely or obliquely, the innerside of the gripper 6 can also have a corresponding shaping, so thattogether with the moldings or recesses, as the case may be, it forms aform lock, and enables even higher forces to be transmitted. Aform-locking connection is one which connects two elements together dueto the shape of the elements themselves, as opposed to a force-lockingconnection, which locks the elements together by force external to theelements.

In this first embodiment of the invention, the transversely rigidprofile section 7 presses the arms 5 a, 5 b of the holder 5 away fromeach other which, due to a certain rigidity of the connection betweenthe arms 5 a, 5 b and the respective fingers 6 a, 6 b, leads to thefingers 6 a and 6 b being compressed against the outer sides of the rope8. That further improves the frictional connection between the springelement 4 and the rope 8.

The spring element 4, as shown in FIG. 3, can also have a relativelysoft core 10, which is enclosed by a cover 11 of relatively stiffmaterial. This enables improved transmission of the spreading forcewhich the transversely rigid profile section 7 exerts upon the arms 5 a,5 b, as a compression force to the fingers 6 a, 6 b.

The rope 8 acts as a traction rope, i.e. traction forces fortransporting the transporting belt 1 are first transmitted by one ormore motors to the rope 8, and the rope 8 transmits them through thespring elements 4 to the transporting belt 1.

If the transporting belt 1 is used in a cableway, then the rope 8 alsoacts at the same time as a track rope and, therefore, as a carryingrope, i.e. in addition to the traction force, it also absorbs the weightforce of the transporting belt 1 and the goods lying upon it, betweenmasts of the cableway. However, it is also conceivable that, in additionto the rope 8 acting as a traction rope, a separate track rope may beprovided. This is explained in detail below, with reference to FIG. 18.

A further family of embodiments of the invention is shown in FIGS. 4 to12, wherein only one edge section of the transporting belt 1 and one ofthe spring elements 4 is shown in each case.

In these embodiments, the spring element 4 is installed to be fixed ordetachable on the lower side 3 of the transporting belt 1, and absorbsits weight force, as long as the transporting belt 1, as is to bedescribed below, is not supported in another way. The spring element 4,as in the first embodiment, is constructed as a long molded profile orsection which extends parallel to the longitudinal direction of thetransporting belt 1, in fact over at least a part of its length. Thelength of the spring element 4 is substantially greater than thediameter of the rope 8, so that a connection of large surface areabetween the rope 8 and the spring element 4, and a correspondingly goodtransmission of force, is ensured. It is also conceivable, however, touse a plurality of relatively short spring element sections, which aredistributed and spaced apart along the transporting belt 1.

As is shown, the spring element 4 in turn has on its lower side agripper 6 with fingers 6 a, 6 b, by which the rope 8 can be gripped,with springing effect. The holder 5 serves in turn for pressing thefingers 6 a, 6 b against the rope 8. If the fingers 6 a, 6 b are to bereleased from the rope 8, the holder 5 must be elastically deformed.

The holder 5 has a central section 12 between side sections 13 a, 13 b.Furthermore, a first bridge 14 and a second bridge 15 extend between theside sections, so that the central section 12 comes to lie between theside sections 13 a, 13 b, below the first bridge 14 and above the secondbridge 15. The weight of the transporting belt 1 rests upon the middleof the bridge, through a connecting plate 16.

The central section 12 has lower rigidity than the side sections 13 a,13 b. For this purpose, in the embodiment according to FIGS. 4 to 6, itis constructed from a different, softer material than the side sections13 a, 13 b, and in the embodiments according to FIGS. 7 to 12, it isconstructed to be hollow.

This development allows a simple opening of the gripper 6. This isillustrated with reference to FIGS. 5, 6, 8, 9, or 11 and 12, as thecase may be. These figures show a spreading device, which serves forspreading the fingers 6 a, 6 b of the spring element 4, so that thespring element can be released from the rope 8, or can be seated uponthe rope 8. Such a spreading device, for example, can be provided at theend of a transporting section, where the transporting belt 1 has to bereleased from one rope and be connected, for example, to the rope of thenext transporting section.

The spreading device is constructed so that it deforms the holder 5 insuch a way that the fingers 6 a, 6 b are spread. For this purpose, inthe embodiments which are shown, the transporting belt 1 is first guidedover lift rollers 20 which lift it relative to the rope 8, for example,by virtue of the transporting belt running directly onto the liftrollers 20 and the rope being deflected downwards. As a result of this,the bridge 14 is bent upwards and draws the side sections 13 a, 13 btowards the middle. The second bridge 15 is consequently similarlyslightly bent, and acts as a joint, around which the side section 13 atilts, together with the finger 6 a, and around which the side section13 b tilts, together with the finger 6 b, so that the fingers 6 a, 6 bare pressed apart. A first releasing of the fingers 6 a, 6 b from therope 8, or at least a first reduction of the press-on force, results asa consequence of this action.

In the next step, the holder 5 is compressed horizontally by twopress-on rollers 21. As a result of this, the central section 12 isfurther deformed, and the first bridge 14, which is already pre-bentupwards, is bent further upwards. Since the second bridge 14 is thickerand stiffer, it is compressed less by the press-on rollers 21, and isbent only a little, as a result of which the fingers 6 a, 6 b are spreadfar apart, enough for the rope 8 to be withdrawn from the gripper 6.

The steps according to FIGS. 5 and 6 are carried out in reverse sequencefor the insertion of a new rope 8 into the gripper 6.

The embodiment according to FIGS. 10 to 12 differs from that accordingto FIGS. 7 to 9 in that the first bridge 14 is pre-bent into the centralsection 12 without the action of the lift rollers 20, and forms a togglelock. The toggle lock creates a clamping force which is largelyindependent of the true weight of the transporting belt 1 and the goodsstanding upon it. In this embodiment, a horizontal compression of theside sections 13 a, 13 b would lead to the first bridge 14 being pressedfurther into the central section 12 and being pushed against the secondbridge, so that the opening of the fingers 6 a, 6 b, shown in FIG. 12,would not occur. It is only if the transporting belt 1 is first liftedthrough the use of the lift rollers 20 relative to the rope 8, or therope is lowered, as the case may be, that the first bridge 14 bendsoutwards and a subsequent horizontal compression by the press-on rollers21 leads to the opening of the gripper 6, which is shown in FIG. 12.

In all of the embodiments according to FIGS. 4 to 12, the fingers 6 a, 6b are wholly or partially compressed by the weight force of thetransporting belt 1, while the transporting belt 1 presses on the firstbridge 14 and prevents it from being deflected upwards. Since the weightof the transporting belt rests upon the holder 5, and a verticalcompression of the holder 5 leads to a compression of the fingers 6 a, 6b, an additional securing of the rope 8 can be achieved in this manner.

A further aspect of the invention under consideration relates to theside walls of the transporting belt. FIGS. 13 and 14 disclose anembodiment of corresponding side walls.

As is shown, enclosing elements 30 are attached to the edges of thetransporting belt 1. In the exemplary embodiment under consideration twoprofile elements of synthetic material are concerned in this case. Eachenclosing element 30 has a base 31 and a side wall 32. The base 31, forexample, has a slot 33 which holds the respective edge of thetransporting belt 1. The side wall 32 projects outwards. An angle αbetween the side wall and the transporting belt, in the non-tensionedstate of the enclosing element, is not a right-angle and is, forexample, 105°. A larger or smaller angle α can also be selected,according to the goods which are to be transported. In any case, theangle α should not lie too close to 90°, so that in the event of saggingor deflection of the belt around a bend axis which is perpendicular tothe longitudinal axis of the belt and parallel to the upper side 2, theside wall, in a defined manner, leans outwards (or, for α<90°, leansinwards, should the occasion arise), as is exemplarily shown in FIG. 14.

The enclosing elements 30 can be installed to be fixed or detachable onthe transporting belt 1. With a fixed configuration, the enclosingelements 30 can also be constructed in one piece with the transportingbelt 1.

As was already mentioned, the transporting belt 1 can be installed onthe conveying rope, or conveying ropes, as the case may be, of acableway, in which the height of the supports or the masts, as the casemay be, is insignificant. Additionally, an incline can easily beovercome, wherein the dimensioning of the conveying ropes is to besimply adapted to the respective traction forces. In this case, theconveying ropes are guided in a recognized manner over support rollerswhich are fastened to the supports. FIGS. 15 and 16 show a sectionthrough the transporting belt on two conveying ropes 8.

On the other hand, the transporting belt 1 can also be guided close tothe ground, or on a support structure 36, as the case may be, in themanner of a conveying belt. The latter is shown in FIG. 17. In thiscase, the ropes 8 do not act as conveying ropes, but purely as tractionropes, i.e. they have no actual carrying function, or only a slightcarrying function. On the contrary, the weight is absorbed primarily bythe stationary support structure.

FIG. 15 shows an embodiment with two spring elements 4. Each springelement encompasses one of the conveying ropes 8, which is guided oversupport rollers 35.

FIG. 16 shows a further embodiment. FIG. 16 differs from FIG. 15 inthat, in this case, a plurality of different spring elements 4 areinstalled next to one another on the transporting belt 1. The springelements 4 serve for holding ropes which have different sizes ordifferent cross sections, as the case may be. In the embodiment which isshown in FIG. 16, the outer, smaller spring elements 4 hold a relativelythin rope 8, which serves purely as a traction rope in a relatively flatstretch with numerous support rollers 35, or serves as a conveying ropein a short cableway section. The larger, inner spring elements 4 are foruse in steeper or more mountainous transporting sections, where thetransportation route is formed as a cableway, and/or where the cable hasto absorb higher traction forces.

Finally, an embodiment where the rope 8 basically serves as a tractionrope, without actual carrying action, is shown in FIG. 17. In thisembodiment, the support rollers 35 of the support structure 36 are incontact directly with the underside 2 of the transporting belt 1, andsupport the latter.

It is also conceivable to support the transporting belt 1 in anothermanner. Thus, the support structure can be constructed, for example, tosupport the transporting belt on a sliding surface, wherein a slidingsubstance, especially a gaseous or liquid sliding substance, such as airor grease, is provided for the reduction of friction effects between thetransporting belt and the support structure.

In the embodiment according to FIG. 17, the support structure 36preferably rests on the ground. However, it is also conceivable tofasten the support structure on one or more track ropes 38 of acableway, as is shown in FIG. 18.

As was mentioned at the beginning, the rope 8 can be a traction orconveying rope, preferably in the form of a steel cable. However, aplastic rope, or a long,. flexible profile element, or a chain of moreor less rigid links, can be used, according to the application andforces to be expected.

The transporting belt 1 can be constructed as an endless belt, or can beformed of individual transporting belt sections, wherein, in the lattercase, the transporting belt sections can be in direct communication witheach other, or can be independent of each other. The transporting beltsections can be constructed to be plate-like, flat elements, as areused, for example, in passenger walkways or, for example, can have theform of steps of an escalator. The transporting belt sections arepreferably made of synthetic material or metal, for example aluminum.

The transporting belt can be reversed, for example, by 180° for thereturn thereof. During the return, it can be orientated so that theactual upper side 1 comes to lie downwards. In this case, the springelements 4 are loaded under tension (which, however, does notnecessarily have to lead to problems, since the transporting belt, as arule, has no goods to carry during the return, so that its weight issmall), or additional spring elements 4 can be provided on the upperside 2, which grip one or more ropes, in each case, below the beltduring the return, or the transporting belt 1 has to be supported byadditional support rollers.

The transporting belt 1, however, is preferably reversed so that thespring elements 4 come to lie downwards, even during the return. This,for example, can be carried out in the manner shown in European PatentEP 1 338 531 B1, corresponding to U.S. Patent Application PublicationNo. US 2003/0155214 A1. Other reversing techniques for transportingbelts are also known to a person skilled in the art.

Two ropes 8, for the hauling and/or supporting of the transporting belt1 in each case, are provided in FIGS. 15-17. However, just one rope 8can be used, or more than two ropes or other traction elements can beused, according to developments of the invention.

While preferred embodiments of the invention are described in theapplication under consideration, it is to be clearly emphasized that theinvention is not limited to these, and can also be embodied in otherways within the scope of the subsequent claims.

1. A transporting device for conveying goods over a conveying route, thetransporting device comprising: a transporting belt; at least onerope-like traction element for exerting a traction force upon saidtransporting belt; said transporting belt following said at least onetraction element at least along a transporting section of the conveyingroute; and a coupling through which said transporting belt and said atleast one traction element communicate in the transporting section, saidcoupling having at least one spring element with a lower part and anupper part, said lower part having a gripper with two fingersencompassing said at least one traction element with springiness in thetransporting section, to create a force coupling, and said upper parthaving arms or side sections rigidly connected with said fingers of saidlower part and wherein said arms or side sections are spread apart forcoupling said gripper with said traction element.
 2. The transportingdevice according to claim 1, wherein: the transporting section is one ofseveral transporting sections; said at least one traction elementincludes several separate traction elements each associated with arespective one of the transporting sections; said at least one springelement includes several spring elements; and devices are disposedbetween the transporting sections for releasing one of said springelements from one of said traction elements in one of the transportingsections and for connecting said one spring element to another of saidtraction elements in the next transporting section.
 3. The transportingdevice according to claim 2, wherein said traction elements in thedifferent transporting sections have different cross sections, at leastin part.
 4. The transporting device according to claim 1, which furthercomprises support rollers over which said at least one traction elementruns.
 5. The transporting device according to claim 4, which furthercomprises supports on which said support rollers are disposed.
 6. Thetransporting device according to claim 1, wherein said at least onetraction element largely absorbs the weight of said transporting belt,and optionally the weight of the goods in the transporting section. 7.The transporting device according to claim 1, which further comprises astationary support structure installed beneath said transporting beltfor absorbing the weight of said transporting belt.
 8. The transportingdevice according to claim 7, which further comprises a sliding substancereducing friction effects between said transporting belt and saidsupport structure.
 9. The transporting device according to claim 8,wherein said sliding substance is at least one of air or grease.
 10. Thetransporting device according to claim 7, wherein said support structurehas support rollers in communication with said transporting belt. 11.The transporting device according to claim 7, wherein said supportstructure is installed on at least one track rope of a cableway.
 12. Thetransporting device according to claim 1, wherein said at least onespring element grips around more than 180° of a circumference of said atleast one traction element.
 13. The transporting device according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one spring element has a gripper with aninternal shape corresponding to an external shape of said at least onetraction element to be gripped.
 14. The transporting device according toclaim 13, wherein said external shape of said at least one tractionelement has at least one molding or recess extending transversely orobliquely, and said internal shape of said gripper has a shape forming aform closure together with said at least one molding or recess.
 15. Thetransporting device according to claim 1, wherein said at least onetraction element is a rope.
 16. The transporting device according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one spring element grips around said atleast one traction element by a length being substantially larger than adiameter of said at least one traction element.
 17. The transportingdevice according to claim 16, wherein said at least one spring elementis a molded profiled section disposed along said transporting belt, overat least a partial length of said transporting belt.
 18. Thetransporting device according to claim 1, wherein said transporting belthas a holding side for holding the goods, and said at least one springelement is disposed on a side of said transporting belt opposite to saidholding side.
 19. The transporting device according to claim 1, whereinsaid transporting belt is endless.
 20. The transporting device accordingto claim 1, wherein said transporting belt is formed of individualtransporting belt sections.
 21. The transporting device according toclaim 1, wherein said at least one traction element includes tractionelements with different cross sections, and said at least one springelement includes several different spring elements disposed next to oneanother along said transporting belt, for holding said traction elementswith different cross sections.
 22. A transporting device for conveyinggoods over a conveying route, the transporting device comprising: atransporting belt; at least one rope-like traction element for exertinga traction force upon said transporting belt; said transporting beltfollowing said at least one traction element at least along atransporting section of the conveying route; and a coupling throughwhich said transporting belt and said at least one traction elementcommunicate in the transporting section, said coupling having at leastone spring element encompassing said at least one traction element withspringiness in the transporting section, to create a force coupling; anda spreading device for spreading said at least one spring element atleast at one end or start of the transporting section.
 23. Thetransporting device according to claim 22, wherein said spreading devicespreads said at least one spring element for inserting or releasing saidat least one traction element.
 24. The transporting device according toclaim 23, wherein said at least one spring element has two fingers andan elastic holder, said fingers grip around said at least one tractionelement, and said fingers are held in said elastic holder and spread byelastic deformation of said holder for releasing said at least onetraction element.
 25. The transporting device according to claim 24,wherein said spreading device deforms said elastic holder to spread saidfingers.
 26. The transporting device according to claim 25, wherein saidspreading device horizontally compresses said holder.
 27. Thetransporting device according to claim 24, wherein said holder includesa central section and side sections, and said fingers are spread bycompressing said side sections.
 28. The transporting device according toclaim 27, wherein said central section is deformable by compressing saidside sections.
 29. The transporting device according to claim 27,wherein said central section has lower rigidity than said side sections.30. The transporting device according to claim 29, wherein said centralsection is hollow or formed of a different material than said sidesections.
 31. The transporting device according to claim 27, whereinsaid holder has a first bridge extended between said side sections. 32.The transporting device according to claim 31, wherein said transportingbelt rests at least partially on said first bridge.
 33. The transportingdevice according to claim 31, wherein said holder has a second bridgeextended between said side sections, said gripper is disposed closer tosaid second bridge than to said first bridge, and said first and secondbridges and said side sections define a section therebetween beinghollow or being formed of a softer material than said bridges and saidside sections.
 34. The transporting device according to claim 33,wherein said spreading device presses said side sections against eachother, causing said first bridge to be deformed to a greater extent thansaid second bridge and causing said gripper to spread.
 35. Thetransporting device according to claim 34, wherein said spreading devicelifts said transporting belt relative to said at least one tractionelement and/or lowers said at least one traction element relative tosaid holder, to create a deformation of said first bridge.
 36. Thetransporting device according to claim 35, wherein said holder permitsan opening of said gripper by horizontally compressing said sidesections, only if said holder has been lifted relative to said at leastone traction element by said spreading device, and/or said at least onetraction element has been lowered relative to said holder.
 37. Thetransporting device according to claim 24, wherein said fingers are tobe compressed by a weight force of said transporting belt.
 38. Thetransporting device according to claim 37, wherein said transportingbelt rests upon said holder, and a vertical compression of said holderleads to a compression of said fingers.
 39. The transporting deviceaccording to claim 38, wherein said holder forms a toggle lock.
 40. Thetransporting device according to claim 24, wherein said holder has astiffening.
 41. The transporting device according to claim 40, whereinsaid stiffening is a basically stiff profiled section disposed in saidholder.
 42. A transporting device for conveying goods over atransporting route, the transporting device comprising: a transportingbelt; enclosing elements disposed on said transporting belt and formingside walls for said transporting belt, said side walls being flexibleand disposed at an angle, other than a right angle, relative to saidtransporting; and a coupling for coupling said transporting belt to atraction element for moving said transporting belt along thetransporting route, said coupling having at least one spring elementwith a gripper embracing the traction element and arms or side sectionsrigidly connected with said gripper, and wherein the gripper isforce-coupled to the traction element by spreading said arms or sidesections apart.
 43. The transporting device according to claim 42,wherein said enclosing elements grip around an upper and a lower side ofan edge of said transporting belt.
 44. The transporting device accordingto claim 43, wherein said enclosing elements have a base with a slot forholding said edge of said transporting belt, and a respective one ofsaid side walls is disposed on said base.
 45. The transporting deviceaccording to claim 42, wherein said enclosing elements are detachablyfastened on said transporting belt.
 46. The transporting deviceaccording to claim 42, wherein said enclosing elements arenon-detachably fastened on said transporting belt.
 47. The transportingdevice according to claim 42, wherein said enclosing elements arestraight longitudinal profiled sections with a basically constant crosssection.
 48. The transporting device according to claim 42, wherein saidtransporting belt bends around a bend axis perpendicular to alongitudinal axis of said transporting belt and parallel to an upperside of said transporting belt.